


What Are Friends For?

by mikaylamazing



Category: Andi Mack (TV)
Genre: Angst, Fluff, M/M, Not Canon Compliant, but like middle school angst
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2018-11-25
Updated: 2018-11-25
Packaged: 2019-08-28 22:10:26
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 16,027
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/16731567
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/mikaylamazing/pseuds/mikaylamazing
Summary: TJ makes it his mission to help Cyrus become more confident so he can finally ask a boy on a date. It doesn't go exactly as planned.





	What Are Friends For?

**Author's Note:**

> hi, quick thing: pretty much none of this is canon compliant bc i started writing this in the summer (like a couple weeks before the s2 finale). it's taken me way too long but it's finally here.

Sitting on a park bench sucks. Nothing here distracts Cyrus quite like the swings do, but he could hear the screams of children from more than a block away. He might be feeling terrible, but not terrible enough to terrorize a group of seven-year-olds into letting him have his favorite spot. He did think about it though. Probably more than he should have.

Now he's just sitting there. Kicking up rocks and wondering what it would be like if he had just never been born. He rolls his eyes at himself. Okay, that was a little dramatic, even for him. It's not like he was even having a particularly bad day; all in all it was pretty normal. He just couldn't - couldn't - listen to Andi talk about Jonah. Again. It's not like he thinks she's doing it on purpose or anything. He understands that she needs to get it out, and he's one of her best friends.

That doesn't make him like Jonah any less, and it certainly doesn't make him feel any less jealous about the whole situation.

It's ridiculous. He knows that even if things don't work out between Andi and Jonah that he probably only has a fraction of a percent of a chance with him, but that fraction of a percent wasn't giving up hope. He kinda wishes it would. He stares down at his feet and spots a tiny, yellow wildflower sprouting up from the leg of the bench.  He tugs on it gently until it comes up between his fingers and he's about to start picking the petals off until someone sits next to him, and he wonders why people don’t know when to leave a sulking boy alone. He turn his body to address the person in as polite of a voice as he can manage at the moment but is surprised into silence.

"'Sup," TJ says, laidback and nonchalant and Cyrus doesn't think that's fair considering the fact that he's having a heart attack and about fifty emotions all at once.

"What? What are you- why are you here?" Cyrus asks, but it's more of a slur of indecipherable syllables, even to his own ears.

"This is kind of a public park," TJ says with a smirk as he moves ever so slightly closer, "And besides, you told me that I now 'know where to find you' and you're here. Or, well you should be over there, but close enough." He's looking at the swings where the children are still screaming and laughing.

"I was outnumbered," Cyrus says gently, looking back down at the flower now crushed by his hand. TJ looks from the crumpled flower petals back up to Cyrus's face, his eyebrows pulled together, whether in confusion or concern Cyrus isn't sure of.

"You alright?" and okay, it's possibly a little of both, but Cyrus doesn't need pity right now, he needs something high in sugar and possibly a nap. And besides, it's not like he can actually tell TJ about why he's upset. He's still only out to Buffy and Andi and the thought of raising that number, even just to three people, makes his stomach clench in fear. Although TJ has been nice to him, he's been... not as nice to others, and that's putting it lightly. He can't possibly know what his reaction will be like; if he'll tell other people. It all just feels too risky, so he just shakes his head, afraid of what might come out if he opens his mouth.

"Is there anything I can do to help?" TJ asks, but Cyrus just shakes his head again because it's true. Even if TJ knew what was going on, what could he do? Cyrus stands quickly, and it makes him light-headed for a second. He finally drops the flower petals and wipes his sweaty hands against his pant legs.

"Um, thanks for checking up on me, but I should probably go. My parents don't really know I'm here, they're probably freaking out." Cyrus is already turning to walk away when TJ speaks up again.

“Yeah, okay. If you ever need to talk..." he trails off not finishing the thought but Cyrus can assume. He nods, though he doubts he'll ever take him up on that.

\---

He needs to tell someone. He's going crazy feeling like he can't talk to anyone, he nearly told his mom, and he could really do without opening up that discussion right now. So he walks around and hangs out by the swings hoping to 'run into' TJ completely randomly. He really can't fathom what his life has become, actively seeking out the captain of the basketball team to tell him all about his gay crush on a pretty unattainable guy who, oh yeah, happens to be one of the only three real friends he has.

But whatever, it's no big deal. He's looking at the faces of the people in and around the playground but there's no sign of TJ anywhere and Cyrus can't help but sigh because that just seems to be the default these days. 

"Looking for someone?" The voice is right behind his left ear, and Cyrus is jumpy at the best of times, so he really can't be blamed for the way his arm swings back and hits the person-shaped object right where their shoulder should be.

The person-shaped object is TJ. And Cyrus would feel bad but he's pretty sure he hurt himself more than he did TJ if the unbothered look on his face is anything to go by. He flexes his fingers in the most subtle way he can manage and looks up with an only slightly strained smile.

"Yes, actually, and I just found him," he says, trying to shake out his nerves a bit, but it's no use.

"You were looking for me?" TJ asks. He seems surprised and Cyrus supposes he can understand that. They haven't seen each other at all for over a week, but its not like it was from lack of trying on Cyrus's part. TJ is apparently just really hard to find and it never occurred to him that they should've exchanged phone numbers at some point. But now they're both here and it doesn't matter.

"Yes," he starts guiding TJ away from any possible eavesdroppers, not that he thinks any of them care about him or what he has to say, but he imagines finding out there's a gay kid in town is probably hot gossip regardless of who he is. "Remember how a few days ago something was bothering me and I didn't really wanna talk about it so I stood up and left like a stereotypical emotional teenager?" And there started the rambling, but he really couldn't help it. It's like he opened his mouth and words just started falling out without his permission. TJ has that same look of confusion and concern from before.

"Uh, yeah, I guess," TJ says with a questioning lilt at the end. They stop awkwardly for a brief second until Cyrus realizes that if they keep walking he probably won't be expected to make eye contact, and then he won't have to see TJ's reaction. So he keeps walking.

"I guess I kinda want to talk about it now. If you still want to listen, that is."  _ The world does not revolve around you, Cyrus _ .  _ He probably completely forgot about the whole thing five minutes after you left. He doesn't care. _

"Dude, I'll listen to anything you have to say. Was actually kinda worried when you just took off like that." TJ is looking down at the ground too and it makes it easier for Cyrus to continue looking away.

"Sorry about that. I just assumed you wouldn't care."

"Well, we're kinda friends now. So, I do." Cyrus breathes a sigh of relief at that, only to start freaking out again because now it's like he has something to lose. Is crying over losing a 'kinda friendship' normal?

"Okay, okay. Can you promise me that what I tell you won't change that? I like being kinda friends with you."

"You're so dramatic. What, are you like, dying?"

"Just on the inside." Cyrus laughs nervously but when he glances at TJ for just a second, he can see him smile and roll his eyes and he thinks he might actually be okay.

"I swear to you, whatever it is, it probably isn't even that big of a deal. I won't just stop talking to you over it. I promise," TJ says, and he sounds incredibly sincere despite the fact that Cyrus still can't see his face so he decides to just come out with it. What's the worst that could happen?

"I like Jonah." It's simple, straightforward, but perhaps too much so because TJ responds with, "The frisbee guy? Who doesn't? He's like the happiest, most positive person I've ever met. He could hit someone with a car and they still probably wouldn't hate him." Cyrus's mind is reeling because, wow, true, but also how could he have been that off?

"No," he finally stops walking because he needs to figure out a way to say this without sounding like a 9-year-old, but his mind comes up blank. "I like him. You know, like like him?" Cyrus wipes his hands on his shirt. They just come back sweaty. It's probably only been three seconds but the silence makes it feel like minutes. He looks up and TJ's face is unreadable which was on the list of fears Cyrus had but it falls way below yelling and/or looking disgusted, so he doesn't feel terrible yet. TJ opens his mouth, then closes it.

"Is that it?" TJ asks with a small reassuring smile. Cyrus returns it with slightly widened eyes, but as soon as it settles in that TJ doesn't hate him now, he frowns.

"I mean, it's not like this has been eating me alive or anything." TJ rolls his eyes for the second time that day, but they slowly pick up their walking again and now Cyrus really wants to elaborate and yell and maybe cry a little bit, but he figures he can save that for a later time. It just feels good to get it out. Again.

"It's not like you murdered someone. You just have a crush on a popular dude, which I'm sure at least half the school can relate to."

"That's what makes it terrible! Jonah Beck can have anyone he wants, why would he ever choose someone like me? The whole thing is useless and pointless." It was hard not to get upset over the fact, especially when it was seeming to be proven every day right before his eyes.

"But, you're his friend. Doesn't that already mean you're a step above most people?"

"Maybe it would for the average friend. However, I am the designated clumsy disaster friend all the other friends laugh at when he inevitably trips over nonexistent cracks in the sidewalk," Cyrus says, laughing but it comes out more pained than he intended. He's gotta figure out how to get these emotion things under control. TJ scoffs and kicks a pebble off the path.

"You've gotta learn to be more confident. People like that kinda stuff." He's still smirking like none of this has fazed him, which Cyrus is actually pretty grateful for. But-

"Easy for you to say! You’ve probably never had an issue with confidence in your life. I have nothing to be confident in. Besides, it's not like I'd have a chance anyway. Are you completely forgetting the crucial detail that I am male. Jonah doesn't like guys."

"Do you know that for sure?" TJ asks, and his quickfire responses don't leave Cyrus with much time to think up anything to reply with. He's never been the best at talking but he's literally just spluttering looking for words to say.

"I mean, no. I guess not. I've never asked; how would you go about asking something like that anyway? And would he assume that I liked guys if I did? Would he assume I liked him? I mean, both of those are true I guess but I don't think of Jonah as the type to-"

"So I'm taking that as a 'no'?"

"Yes. I mean, no? Yes, it's a no," Cyrus nods as if that makes it any clearer. TJ inhales and exhales once.

"Okay. I'm gonna help you," TJ says like he's making a life-altering decision right then and there. Whatever it is goes completely over Cyrus's head.

"Help me? Help me what? What's happening?" TJ smiles like Cyrus just said the funniest thing ever, but he still doesn't get it so his eyes widen in fear.

"Relax, Underdog. I'm gonna help you get your guy," he says as if it's the easiest thing in the world. Cyrus's chest expands and collapses in two seconds flat.

"You can't do that. I can't do that!" Cyrus realizes belatedly that he's yelling and maybe it would be better if people couldn't hear what they were talking about but he thinks it's warranted. The concerned look is back on TJ's face as he guides Cyrus to another bench and apparently, Cyrus shouldn't have had this conversation standing in the first place.

"Why are you freaking out?"

"I can't just... go after Jonah. Andi is one of my best friends." TJ waits for Cyrus to elaborate. It doesn't come on it's own.

"And? What does that have to do with anything?" Cyrus takes a moment to remember that TJ knows little to nothing about him or his friends. He also thinks about how much he can't wait to tell him everything.

"Andi likes Jonah too. So, I can't. I can't do that to her. It's not like it would ever work out anyway, so really, what's the point in trying?" TJ frowns and Cyrus immediately knows he's not gonna take that.

"Does she know you like him too?"

"Yes, both Andi and Buffy know." TJ raises his eyebrows in surprise.

"And yet you wanted to talk to me about all of this?"

"Well, I can't talk to Andi about it without feeling like I'm about to have a breakdown and I really don't want to make Buffy a go-between in this situation. Besides, you're a very good listener. It's like a win-win... win. And you can't go wrong with three wins." TJ smiles at that and it's tiny, barely noticeable, but one of the most genuine things Cyrus has ever seen from him.

"If you say so," he says, the smile growing a bit, "And if you really don't want to, I won't force you to do anything about it."

"Thank you."

"But-"

"Why did I know that was too easy?"

"I could still help you with your confidence. And then you can land a guy and not have to worry about your best friend liking him too," he teases, but it's good-natured and Cyrus is so glad he found someone he can talk to about these things now, even if he's a little shocked that it's TJ of all people.

"Can you try not to tell anyone about Andi? It wasn't really my secret to tell but it just kinda slipped out in the panic," Cyrus asks, and he's maybe gotta work on that too.

"No worries. Who am I gonna tell?"

"Was that a self-deprecating joke about not having friends? Maybe we have more in common than I originally thought."

"Or, maybe I'm just observant of the fact that I actually have no friends." Cyrus wants to frown but he's still got the faintest hint of a smile on his face.

"Maybe I can help you too?" Cyrus asks, smiling but still worried that TJ may have reached his limit and was seconds away from denying everything and walking away. He has nothing to fear once TJ returns his smile yet again. Cyrus doesn't think he's ever seen him smile this much. He breathes in.

"I feel like this might be a bad idea. But, I've never had any good ideas, so when do we start?”

\---

"Okay, what is step one to me living my best possible life? I know there's a lot of improvement to be had," Cyrus says confidently into the mirror hanging on his living room wall. It's the first time TJ's been in his house and honestly he thought it would be weirder than it is, but that might just be due to the fact that his mom and step dad are out right now. He does finger guns and tries to wink but he never really learned how to wink so it kind of just looks like he has something in his eye.

"Okay, first of all, you have to stop doing that," TJ says, walking up behind Cyrus. The top of TJ's head is cut off in the reflection, but Cyrus can still see the faintest hint of a smile on his face.

"Why? I like the finger guns. And I know I'm not the best at winking but I can always learn how, like I can totally practice in the mirror until I stop looking stupid, and-" TJ puts a hand on his shoulder, not at all aggressively but it's still enough to make him jump a little.

"I'm not talking about the finger guns. I'm talking about the whole 'putting yourself down before you give yourself a chance' thing." TJ turns Cyrus away from the mirror to face him, but Cyrus won't look up.

"I feel vaguely called out."

"Good. That means I'm doing my job." Cyrus wants to scoff and tell him that this isn't a job and that he's maybe taking it too seriously, but before he can think to do anything TJ is pulling him along and pushing him to sit. TJ remains standing, like he wasn't already tall enough.

"Now, say something good about yourself." Cyrus can't tell if TJ's being serious but even if he is, he's not sure he can come up with anything, not on the spot at least. It's harder than it seems and he shouldn't be judged for it.

"Uh, can you come back to me?" he asks, shrinking into the folds of the couch. TJ just lightly shakes his head and sits down beside him. Cyrus is still thinking! He's not bad at this on purpose, he swears.

"C'mon. It shouldn't take this long. There has to be something that immediately comes to mind. Literally anything, as long as it's positive. Go." And now Cyrus is under slight pressure so he says-

"Dinosaurs." He says it with way too much confidence considering how incoherent it is as a response. TJ nods his head with wide eyes which quickly transforms to a confused shake.

"I don't get it," he says, as if there's some kind of deep, metaphorical meaning. Cyrus clears his throat.

"I, uh, I really like dinosaurs. And I know a lot about them," Cyrus cringes to himself. It sounds so much lamer out loud and he can't help but think it probably wasn't what TJ was looking for.

"Okay, that's a start," TJ says, smiling as he puts a reassuring hand on Cyrus's shoulder. "You're smart. You know a lot of things."

"I really wouldn't go that far. It's really just-" TJ gives him a disapproving look halfway through his protest and he knows what he has to do.

"I mean, yeah. I'm smart. I know a lot of things," Cyrus tries with a vague attempt at a smile. TJ returns it twofold.

"You're passionate about your interests. It's pretty cool." Cyrus can feel a faint blush because very few things about  him have ever been described as 'cool' before. He kind of wishes they could've just ended with the one and called it a day for progress. He clears his throat again.

"I'm passionate about my interests, and although I myself would never think of a dinosaur obsession as cool, you do, so I guess it is." Cyrus takes another deep breath. TJ sighs gently but it's not annoyed-sounding so Cyrus is relieved.

"Not bad. If you just keep thinking like that soon you'll be bathing in confidence," TJ says. He goes to check his phone.

"Okay, your turn," Cyrus says plainly. TJ's head shoots up and he raises an eyebrow at him.

"What are you talking about?"

"I'm talking about it being your turn. You say something good about yourself." And now he looks just slightly annoyed, but Cyrus figures it's only fair. TJ's eyes light up.

"I'm pretty good at basketball." And no fair, that's a total cop out and Cyrus isn't afraid to call it as so.

"Something other than sports. I know there's something," Cyrus prods, looking right at TJ, while TJ decides to stare at the ceiling, and then the inside of his eyelids.

"The odds are stacked against me because I can't do anything else," TJ mumbles. He brings his hands up to cover his eyes. With the help of gentle nudging, Cyrus gets him to look at him again.

"You don't wanna be a hypocrite, do you? I know there has to be something." TJ contemplates that for a few seconds more.

"Fine. I guess I'm pretty good at hugs." His tone of voice is defiant and borderline whiny, but Cyrus can see how the tips of his ears turn red. So it's a little unexpected. Or a lot unexpected. Completely unexpected.

"Never took you for the hugging type."

"That's because I'm not." Cyrus isn't sure but he thinks he messed up. He really didn't mean to. He's in the middle of thinking of ways to apologize when TJ interrupts his extremely fast train of thought.

"Sorry, I didn't mean to snap. It just happens when I think people are making fun of me," he admits. He looks even more flustered than he did ten seconds ago.

"I would never make fun of you. I was just wondering what makes you think you're qualified to call yourself a good hugger," Cyrus asks. His voice is ever so slightly teasing but he hopes TJ realizes it's not malicious. From the smile on his face, Cyrus assumes he does.

"Nothing really. I only hug my mom and my little sister when they're feeling bad. They always say it makes them feel better. Don't know if that counts since they're my family." He's finally looking at Cyrus again and he wonders if TJ ever shares stuff like this with anyone else.

"It's a pretty good assumption to make. Though you are in luck, as I greatly appreciate hugs and consider myself a bit of an aficionado - a connoisseur - of hugs, and I can let you know for sure if you're good." In one of his boldest moves to date, Cyrus dives forward and wraps his arms around TJ's waist. Surprisingly, TJ's do the same in about a second flat. Cyrus can feel his frantic heartbeat slow after a few moments when he realizes their difference in height allows for his head to rest perfectly on TJ's shoulder.

"Oh yeah, you're an expert."

"Really?" All Cyrus does is nod.

"Don't let anyone tell you otherwise."

\---

The next day finds Cyrus excitedly walking to The Spoon, ready to tell Buffy and Andi everything that happened the day before until he stops in the middle of the sidewalk and realizes all the reasons he can't do that. Buffy still hates TJ. She was upset at just the thought of Cyrus hanging out with him; how would she react to it actually happening on what he assumes will become a regular basis? And Cyrus having a genuine good time? He considers turning around and telling them he can't make it, even opens up a new message, before he notices that they can already see him through the window.

They wave and smile like his palms aren't sweaty because he's a bad liar and he knows it. He has no idea how he's gonna manage to spend time with them and say nothing. He should've thought of something yesterday, but he's never been good at forethought, and now he's walking through the door. He sits down across from both of them and swallows hard. It seems like they haven't noticed how nervous he is, but it really doesn't matter.

"Hey, Cyrus. Where were you yesterday? We missed you," Buffy asks with a smile. Cyrus knows she's joking. They can go a day without seeing each other, but it opens up the floodgates. Everything comes out at once in slur of words.

"I was with TJ. I know you still don't like him, and I know he hasn't done anything to apologize or prove that he's worthy of being forgiven, but he's actually not that bad. He's really nice and funny, and I'm sorry." Andi looks at him with wide eyes. Buffy looks like she wants to kill him. Again. Cyrus doesn't think that's fair. She did tell him he could be friends with whoever he wants. As if she could read his mind, she rolls her eyes but looks less upset.

"I'm not mad, really. I'm just disappointed."

"Come on, even my own parents don't use that one on me. I am genuinely sorry, but I think he needs a friend." Buffy's eyes soften and Cyrus knows he's right, he just wishes there was a way everyone could be okay with it.

"I admire your need to make everyone around you happy. I'm just worried. What if he hurts you? Then what am I gonna do?"

"You don't have to do anything except be here for me. But I doubt I'll even need that; TJ has been really nice to me, and I know that must be pretty much impossible for you to believe, but it's true." Buffy and Andi exchange a glance that still looks the slightest bit skeptical, but he's gonna count that as a win. It's way better than his imagined worst case scenario.

"I still just think it's weird. You two have nothing in common. What do you even talk about?" Andi wonders aloud. Buffy looks at him expectantly. And while Cyrus would love to tell his friends absolutely everything, he knows it's not his stuff to tell.

"Nothing much, really. He's mostly trying to help me be more confident and self-assured." Once Cyrus says it out loud he realizes how lame he sounds. Not that his friends would ever say it to him, but he knows they must at least be thinking it.

"That's... not what I expected," Buffy says. She looks confused, but it's not a bad confused. More of a pleasantly surprised confused, which is fine by Cyrus.

"No kidding. What have you done so far?" Andi asks, but Cyrus really doesn't want to talk about it, so he's grateful when Jonah walks in and distracts everybody, himself included. Buffy doesn't look any more upset than she did when Cyrus sat down and he just hopes it can stay that way.

\---

"Okay, today I thought we could focus on what you wear," TJ says as if that in itself isn't terrifying and mildly offending.

"What's wrong with what I wear?" Cyrus looks down at the slightly wrinkled button-down he's wearing, and okay, maybe he caught him on an off-day for this particular lesson. TJ laughs, and Cyrus would like to be in on these jokes of his eventually.

"Nothing is wrong with it, that's not what I'm saying." They're in TJ's room, and while he's sprawled out on the bed, looking up at the ceiling, Cyrus is awkwardly standing kind of near the bed, hovering and unsure of every move he makes. Being in someone's house for the first time is always a bit weird for him, he thinks there should be some sort of universal protocol for it. TJ can obviously sense his nerves because he sits up and just as quickly pulls Cyrus to sit beside him. He doesn't squeal or shriek and he's proud of himself.

"I was thinking about things like, I don't know, color coordination."

"I was under the impression that I was at least decent at that. I did do well with color theory for art last year."

"Of course you did. I was thinking more along the lines of finding colors that compliment your natural undertones," TJ declares, and he's so straightforward with it that for a few moments, Cyrus finds himself nodding like it was the most normal thing TJ could have said. His eyes widen almost immediately after.

"What?" It's all he can think to ask. 

"My mom makes me watch Project Runway with her." Cyrus is still staring, his mouth gaping.

"You learn things eventually. It's like unconscious, or whatever," TJ defends himself. Cyrus seriously isn't judging him. It's just that every time they hang out now Cyrus learns something new. It just takes a few seconds for new information to settle in his brain.

"That's... really cute," Cyrus says sincerely, but then thinks that might be a bit much so he amends it with, "that you would do that for your mom."

"It's really not a big deal. It's literally just sitting in front of a TV," he says, but his face is tinged pink and Cyrus knows better than to keep pushing it. He just smiles to himself.

"Okay, give me tips, Mr. Fashion Guru," Cyrus says jokingly. TJ doesn't seem to have a reaction to that, negative or otherwise, as he looks at Cyrus. Like, really looks at him, and Cyrus isn't sure where he's supposed to look so it's not awkward. He's not really used to people... examining him. More than anything he's used to people not seeing him at all. The amount of times he's been run into in a hallway without so much as a glance in his direction is worryingly high.

His eyes settle on a corner of the room and that's probably still awkward, but he really can't look at TJ right now. He can feel his skin heating up so he can't help it when he asks, "Are you almost done?" His voice breaks on nearly every syllable, but that's fine he supposes because TJ didn't even notice he started talking.

"You look really good in blue," TJ finally says, nodding to himself. Meanwhile, Cyrus looks down at his own chest, just a bit perplexed because the shirt he's currently wearing is definitely red, he could argue burgundy but really it's somewhere in between.

"How do you know?" Cyrus asks skeptically. He's starting to think this is some extremely lame joke on TJ's part. He looks thoughtful for a second.

"I'm not sure how it actually works. I just know it looks good by looking at your skin," Cyrus isn't sure if that's a good or bad thing and is about to cover up every single inch of exposed skin on his body.

"Just trust me, I remember from that shirt you wore last Tuesday," TJ asserts. A lot of things go through Cyrus's mind, but mainly:

"I don't even remember what I wore yesterday." TJ looks slightly embarrassed but he continues on anyway, and Cyrus is gonna have to learn how to do that someday.

"I am a keeper of useless information," he says before looking around his room. He starts digging through the dresser beside his bed until he flings something out of it and directly at Cyrus's face. He's thankful it's nothing substantial because there's no way he would have caught that. His hand-eye coordination leaves something to be desired.

It’s a dark blue button-up. Cyrus isn’t so helpless that the implication is lost on him. If all the blood in his body wasn’t already in his face, he’s sure it’d be rushing there now. He really hates how little control he has over that particular function.

He’s working himself up to asking, “What do I do with this?” but TJ beats him to it.

“Put it on.” Cyrus is searching for any sign that TJ has even the slightest bit of awkwardness, but why would he? This isn’t weird or awkward, that’s all Cyrus. So he takes a breath. 

“Can you turn around?” He says it as indignantly as he possibly can but realizes that might be counterintuitive to the fact that he actually wants him to turn around. TJ humors him and turns with a smirk, even goes as far as to cover his eyes with his hands. Cyrus is grateful that’s the end of it. He replaces his shirt with the one TJ gave him as quickly as he can, and he immediately knows it’s one or two sizes too big for him. 

He’s not sure what he expected. TJ is visibly bigger than him, as are a good majority of people. It’s another one of those things that he’s trying really hard to stop feeling insecure about. 

“Um, okay,” Cyrus says, signalling TJ to face him again despite how ridiculous he feels. 

Surprisingly, TJ’s first reaction isn’t laughter or even a mocking eyebrow raise, but a smile. A big, genuine smile. At Cyrus. 

It’s not the first time he’s seen TJ smile; it’s actually a pretty common occurrence, at least as far as he’s concerned. He just doesn’t think he’ll ever get used to it. When TJ goes a solid ten seconds without saying anything, Cyrus figures he should. 

“I look stupid and I have no idea how this was supposed to prove your point,” Cyrus says, flapping his arms exasperatedly to show the excess length of the sleeves. 

TJ just laughs - tries to look disapproving about Cyrus’s slight negativity but it’s clear he can’t. Instead he just grabs at his arm and starts rolling up the sleeves until they’re at his elbows. 

“There. All fixed.” Cyrus looks down again. He gives an extremely skeptical look.

“Ah, you’re right,” TJ continues, moving his hands to Cyrus’s neck, alarming him for a second. 

“You obviously need to undo this top button,” he says, taking the liberty of doing it himself. Cyrus thinks that he’s maybe managed to get through it without blushing, which is the closest he’s ever gotten to a miracle in his life, but then TJ winks and it’s all out the window. He absently wonders if it’ll be like this for the rest of his life; getting flustered and embarrassed any time a relatively cute guy says anything relatively nice to him? Just barely touches him? It’s not like he even  _ likes _ TJ, but he’s not blind, he knows TJ is objectively attractive, and that’s fine. He just wishes his brain got the message. Instead, it explodes into a discordant symphony of ‘Boyfriend?? Boyfriend! Imagine if you had a boyfriend!’ It’s not what he needs right now.

“I can’t believe I’m taking advice from a guy wearing that,” he says, distracting both himself, and hopefully TJ, from the redness of his face. TJ looks down at his outfit composed of a fluorescent yellow t-shirt and royal blue basketball shorts, both visibly worn. So maybe they’re not the best match.

“After all the help I’m giving you, you have the audacity to treat me with disrespect?” TJ says, a smug, teasing look on his face. Cyrus shoves him lightly. He can’t ignore the pounding in his chest.

\--- 

TJ is minding his own business on his way to work when he comes across her. Buffy is walking in his direction, and they’ve already made eye contact so he can’t even pretend like he didn’t see her to start walking in a different direction. In fact, it seems like she speeds up the second she sees him. 

It’s not like he hates her; he never has. He knows his behavior towards Buffy is deeply rooted in his personal insecurities or whatever and he’s never actually had anything against her personally. He knows that he treated her in a way that was beyond terrible. He knows he needs to apologize, sooner rather than later. He knows all of this. He just thought he’d have a little more time to come up with something to say. 

TJ swallows nervously. There’s a lot riding on this apology and his biggest fear is it somehow going wrong in one way or another. He’s well aware of the fact that Buffy’s approval is necessary for his and Cyrus’s friendship to continue, and the mere thought of it ending is enough for him to come up with something to say. A multitude of somethings. Maybe a few too many.

“Look, I know you hate me. Or just don’t care at all about me and wish you could go the rest of your life without seeing my face. That’s fine, and I totally understand,” TJ rambles. He’s slightly out of breath and they’re standing right in the middle of the sidewalk but he can’t focus on anything except getting the words out, so he keeps going, powering on through Buffy’s skeptical expression.

“You don’t need to be friends with me, or even accept my apology at all. I just want you to know that none of what happened was your fault. In fact, everything that happened happened solely because I am an insecure idiot.” Buffy looks pleased at that but still doesn’t say anything. So TJ keeps going.

“Cyrus is…” TJ trails off, not exactly sure where the thought is going, but he knows Cyrus is a big part of this. He needed to bring him up eventually. Buffy raises her eyebrows expectantly. “really important to me. I have absolutely no clue why he even speaks to me. But I do know that if I want anything to do with him, I need you to not want me gone from the face of the planet,” he finishes in one breath. Buffy rolls her eyes at that.

“Can I talk now?” she asks, only somewhat condescending, and TJ is impressed. He nods once.

“First of all, you really overestimate how much emotion I invest in anything related to you,” she says plainly. TJ shrugs at that. So he has a penchant for overthinking. 

“Second, what I think really doesn’t matter. Cyrus is his own person and he would’ve ultimately done whatever he wanted. Which would appear to be making a friend out of you for some reason.” TJ can’t help the small smile that appears on his face at that, but as more people begin to pass them, he realizes this conversation might benefit from happening somewhere else, not standing awkwardly as people squeeze by them. He spots a bench a few meters away and motions for Buffy to follow, which she does reluctantly. When the both sit down, TJ takes another deep breath.

“You might not think it matters but it does,” he declares, and maybe he’s getting a little overly emotional about the entire thing but he can’t seem to stop. Buffy’s eyes widen marginally, but she stays quiet and waits for an explanation. TJ kind of wishes she’d say something.

“If you can’t stand to even be around me there’s no chance of anything working out between me and Cyrus. You might think that he’ll do whatever he wants but he’ll pick you. I know he will, and he won’t be wrong for it. And I can’t lose him, not now.” He can’t make eye contact with her anymore and he’s long since dived into ‘pathetic’ territory.

“You see, those are all incredibly valid points to make, but I’m having a hard time understanding why you even care at all. It’s not like you,” and there’s the hint of snark he’d been waiting for but somehow it doesn’t help him calm down at all. 

“I doubt this is hard to believe, but Cyrus is the first real friend I’ve ever had.” Buffy looks at him like he’s gotta be joking but when the punchline doesn’t come her face settles into a look of pity. 

“Come on, you have to be exaggerating. You have to have had at least one friend in your life.”

“Not really. Not ones that weren’t scared of me, which don’t really count in my opinion. And it’s not like it wasn’t my fault; I take full responsibility. I just think that it’s nice that it’s not like that for once. I don’t know. I’m just as surprised as you are.” TJ finally looks up at Buffy and she’s actually smiling. At something he said. It’s weird, but better than he thought he’d get so he’s not complaining. 

“I can’t believe I’m witnessing you having an actual emotion that’s not drowning in arrogance,” she says, but TJ can tell it’s not with the amount of spite she would normally have. “It’s kinda sweet, if not really, really weird.”

“Well, I’ve decided there’s gonna be more of it so you should probably get used to it,” he says, and he means that genuinely. Now that he knows what it’s like to have someone who cares about him and to reciprocate that care, he doesn’t think he could ever go back to the way things were. 

“I’ll keep that in mind. In the meantime, consider the fact that you could have a whole group of friends and not just one. All you had to do was be nice to us,” Buffy says, standing up. TJ follows and rolls his eyes, but he knows she’s right. The thought just honestly never occurred to him. 

“It’s never too late to try?” TJ responds. Buffy is about to walk away, when she turns around one more time.

“Just know, if you do anything - and I mean  _ anything  _ \- to hurt him, I will deal with you.” TJ scoffs, but won’t admit that he’s kinda scared. Just a little bit.

“I wasn’t planning on it,” he says simply, but then she stares him down and he feels like he’s gonna break out in a sweat.

“I believe you. But the threat still stands.” She doesn’t wait for a response and actually leaves and TJ can’t help the smile that takes over his entire face. He pulls out his phone instantly.

_ hey underdog, guess what?  _

_ Oooh, I love guessing!  _

He’s not sure how, but his smile manages to grow even bigger. 

\---

They find themselves at the park again, swinging absentmindedly, side by side. TJ had just told Cyrus about his conversation with Buffy (he may love guessing, but he’s not very good at it, even with hints). 

“I still can’t believe she actually forgave you,” Cyrus says in awe. TJ isn’t sure if he should take offense to that, but he’s too excited about the whole thing to think about it for longer than three seconds. 

“I can’t believe she kinda offered to be my friend,” TJ admits. He honestly wasn’t expecting anything at all, he just wanted to be able to say he tried for Cyrus’s sake. Now that he’s reached this point he doesn’t really know what’s gonna happen. Is he gonna have actual friends? He’s not sure how he feels about that.

“You’re telling me. What did you even say to her?” It’s an innocuous question, and really not one that should make TJ feel anxious but he doesn’t know how to explain any of it without sounding weird. How does he tell Cyrus it was him? Every point he made, every motivation was this guy he hasn’t even known for very long? It doesn’t make sense, and isn’t until this point that TJ realizes it. He could tell Cyrus; he knows for a fact that he would completely understand; he’d probably even smile at it all. But deep inside TJ feels something change and that isn’t what he wants, not at all, and the worst part is that he can tell it’s too late. Whatever it is, it won’t go back to normal now. But he’s not about to make it worse. 

“Oh, you know, just begged for forgiveness over and over until she finally gave in,” TJ lies through his teeth, and he thinks it sounds terrible and obvious, but Cyrus just fixes his puzzled eyes on TJ.

“I can’t believe that actually worked. I’m one of her best friends and it didn’t even work for me.”

“She obviously has higher standards set for you because you’re one of her best friends. And because you’re a generally a good person.” Cyrus rolls his eyes, but looks at him sympathetically, and TJ swears that’s not what he was going for.

“ _ You’re  _ a good person. You just made very questionable decisions, but who hasn’t? That hat I bought last week? An incredibly questionable decision. I don’t even wear hats.” TJ smiles, genuine despite his discomfort at the whole situation. 

“Thanks for that, but I don’t think that can really be compared to making someone’s life miserable for an extended period of time,” TJ says, and he knows he’s right. He’s confident Buffy would never have even considered accepting his apology if it weren’t for the boy swinging beside him.

“At least now we can all hang out together! It’ll be so fun,” Cyrus says with a surprising amount of enthusiasm, and just slightly louder than TJ was expecting. It isn’t quite enough to bring up his mood. 

“It’s also fun when it’s just the two of us.” TJ can hear how his voice strains on certain syllables and he would kick himself if he didn’t think it would give Cyrus more reasons to be concerned about him. 

“Of course it is.” It’s said with a soft grin.TJ swallows with difficulty and tries to think of a way to change the subject before he  _ really  _ makes a fool of himself, but luckily he doesn’t have to think too long because Cyrus hops off his swing and stands in front of TJ. He just narrowly misses getting hit by TJ’s knees.

“So what’s my lesson for today, Mr. Basketball?” Cyrus asks, hands on his hips, defiant like he’ll stand there until TJ gives him what he wants. As if TJ would ever deny him anything. 

“Mr. Basketball? You just gonna keep shortening it? What’s next?”

“I guess we’ll find out next time, won’t we?” TJ feels pathetic for the way his heart starts pounding at the thought of a ‘next time,’ because of course there’s gonna be a next time. They’re friends, why wouldn’t there be? He shakes his head in an attempt to get rid of his stupid thoughts, but unfortunately, nothing else comes to his mind after that.

“Uh, how about you decide this time?” Cyrus looks at him perplexed, like he never assumed TJ would ever let him decide what they do, despite the fact that TJ is  _ literally  _ doing all of this for him. 

“I don’t know... that’s why you’re helping me. I don’t know about any of this stuff,” Cyrus kicks at the ground and TJ can see the way his face starts going red and it’s seriously one of the most endearing things he’s ever witnessed in his life. 

“And you really think I do? You actually have real life experience. You probably know more than me,” TJ responds and he hates how that thought makes him feel. It’s stupid, everything regarding his emotions is one big, stupid mess and he’s just hoping for Cyrus to give him the out he clearly needs.

“Ah, but you were allowed to watch movies, a luxury I was never granted growing up with the exception of sleepovers at Buffy’s house where I fell asleep halfway through every time.” TJ thinks about that for a bit.

“You couldn’t watch movies?”

“Nothing with a rating above PG, which has only very recently been changed to a tentative PG-13. I don’t know all the things that are supposed to happen, or what I’m supposed to do, and it’s only, I don’t know, about 300% harder when you don’t fall into the specific box labeled ‘the expectations of society,’ aka straight.” Cyrus’s face is even more red than before, but he’s also out of breath and TJ is about to ask if he’s okay, but thinks better of it.

“Real life is nothing like the movies. You can’t learn any of this stuff from movies because everything in movies is made to work out in the end,” TJ starts, looking at Cyrus, who blinks once like he doesn’t quite get it. “Things in real life  _ do not _ always work out in the end. They usually don’t,” and he’s not sure where that came from but as soon as the words are out of his mouth he sees Cyrus’s forehead crease and he has to backtrack. 

“But real life is also  _ waaaay _ better than the movies. Especially if you’re thinking about romcoms. There’s no way movies show what love is actually like. They’re lame and cliche. I’m almost positive relationships don’t actually work like that. Love doesn’t work like that.” Cyrus looks at him contemplatively, the tiniest smile on his face. 

“How would you know? It’s not like you’ve ever been in love,” Cyrus says, and his tone is teasing. TJ’s eyes follow Cyrus’s lips. He’s never felt more mesmerised in his life.

“Maybe I have,” TJ says, and it’s not even a weak attempt at being defiant, he barely even thinks and before he knows it, the words are out of his mouth and in the open. Cyrus raises his eyebrows and grabs onto the chain of the swing TJ is still nervously swaying on.

“Is there something you’re not telling me?” Cyrus asks him. While there’s still a little bit of a teasing nature to his voice, he sounds more serious, and borderline concerned. There aren’t enough subjects in the world that TJ can come up with to stop this conversation - that he desperately wants to avoid - from happening. He tries anyway. 

“You know I’m just messing with you. C’mon, Cy, do you even know me at all?” he asks, trying way too hard to sound nonchalant. He knows it comes through this time from the way Cyrus frowns for a split second. 

“I mean, to be fair, you do keep surprising me… with literally everything,” he says. He sounds accusatory and TJ isn’t prepared to open that can of worms at the moment. He stands up, way closer to Cyrus than he anticipated, so he lightly pushes him back a little. Not that TJ thinks it’s going to help at all. He’ll find himself within inches of the boy in just a minute, he’s sure of it. 

“You wanna be like the people in the movies? You’ve gotta start drowning in the cliches,” TJ declares. He leads Cyrus away from the swings, his hand between his shoulder blades, trying desperately to ignore the voice in his head telling him ‘I told you so’. He drops his hand as soon as they’re walking in the same direction. 

“Where are we going?” Cyrus asks. He’s trying to meet TJ’s eyes, but it’s not gonna happen if TJ has any say in it. He picks up his pace every five seconds despite the fact that it makes it that much harder for Cyrus to keep up, but they get where TJ wants them to be much faster than they normally would. Cyrus only asks where they’re going two more times. They make it to the storefront when TJ finally stops and turns to Cyrus.

“Ask me if I wanna get milkshakes with you at The Spoon,” TJ commands. It comes out shaky and unsure, and Cyrus stares at him like he’s grown another head.

“But we’re- it’s…” he gestures to the diner directly in front of them. “We’re already here? Why would I ask you if you want-”

“Ask me like it’s a date,” TJ clarifies, and his face burns hotter than it has all day, but he manages to maintain eye contact. Cyrus’s mouth gapes for a few seconds, more than one question in his eyes.

“For practice! This is the lesson for today.” Even TJ can hear the scare quotes around the word ‘lesson’ when he says it. He knows how transparent he’s being, anxiously waiting for Cyrus to catch on but it doesn’t happen. Instead his face lights up like he gets it, like TJ is a genius and  _ of course  _ that’s what’s happening. 

“Wow, I’ve never even given any thought to this before, and it’s arguably the most important aspect in starting a relationship,” Cyrus says. He nods to himself but quickly looks up at TJ, his eyes pleading.

“So, what exactly am I supposed to say?” Cyrus asks. There’s a tiny helpless smile on his face, and TJ finally understands the protagonist in every young adult novel ever. He’s never wanted to kiss someone more than he wants to kiss Cyrus right now. 

“Whatever you think is right. I believe in you.” Cyrus smiles nervously, then takes in a deep breath.

“Would you like to accompany me to a subpar eating establishment under the pretense of romantic involvement?” TJ blinks. He feels the sharp twinge in his chest a second later. An overwhelming wave of ‘I love you so much’ washes over him which is the most ridiculous thing to happen in his life so far. He’s fourteen and has experienced like a fraction of a fraction of a percent of the world. He doesn’t know what love is. 

“That was wrong, wasn’t it?” Cyrus asks. His need to make Cyrus happy shakes TJ from his inner monologue in a split second.

“No! That was perfect. I would love to  _ accompany  _ you,” TJ says. He jogs to the door to hold it open for Cyrus. He feels like he’s lost control of his body.

“Shouldn’t I be the one holding doors and whatnot?” 

“Hey, relationships should have balance.” TJ wonders if he’ll learn to shut up some time today, but Cyrus is smiling again. He ignores his losses.

“You’re right.” They walk to the booth in the back corner of the room and sit across from each other. Cyrus keeps talking but it’s getting increasingly difficult for TJ to pay attention to what he’s saying when he notices the way his mouth gives the faintest upturn when he says something he thinks is particularly funny. 

“Do you agree?” It’s the only thing TJ hears, at the very end of a probably long, rambly sentence. TJ has the sense to feel guilty, but quickly does what he assumes will amend the situation.

“Absolutely,” he responds, a huge smile gracing his face, as he desperately hopes that was the right choice. Cyrus releases a breath of relief, so he assumes it was.

“Great! I thought I was starting to sound like an idiot when you didn’t react. And I thought for sure it was lame and cliche, but you were the one that said I should dive headfirst into it, so I thought ‘why not?’” TJ listens this time. And ends up more lost than he was before. 

“Yeah,” he clears his throat, “what exactly was it you said again?” Cyrus looks at him with one raised eyebrow.

“Were you not listening to me at all?” he asks, fake offended and overdramatic. It’ll be a miracle if TJ stops smiling.

“I didn’t mean to, I swear! I just got distracted for a bit.”

“Hmm, getting distracted doesn’t seem like very good date etiquette, especially not for a first date. I’m gonna have to dock points for that,” Cyrus says, pretending to be thoughtful but unable to erase the smirk from his face. TJ nearly chokes at the implication that they’re on a date.  _ A fake date,  _ he reminds himself. A fake date which he mostly orchestrated for Cyrus’s sake. So that he can ask out someone he  _ actually  _ likes. 

“Oh, so there’s a scoring system now? Who’s in the lead?” TJ knows he’s bordering on flirty, that he should stop before he says something he can’t take back.  _ But this is all pretend _ , says a stupid voice in his head that knows nothing about anything.  _ You can say anything because this is just a game _ . He shakes his head minutely and focuses on actually listening to Cyrus this time. 

“Hmm, it’s hard to say. It’s a very intricate system. Though you might get extra points if you agree that chocolate is the best milkshake flavor,” Cyrus declares. It’s clear to TJ that there are no actual rules Cyrus has in mind. And yet,

“I might be inclined to agree depending on the context of the situation,” TJ decides, being purposely difficult. Cyrus playfully rolls his eyes and TJ can feel his heartbeat speed up even more which he didn’t think was possible.

“The context is sharing a milkshake with two straws on a date, which you would know if you’d been listening to me.” The accusation hangs in Cyrus’s voice, but his smile is still widening the more time goes on. TJ’s glad he’s not the only one. 

“I’m so sorry for getting distracted. It’ll never happen again, I promise.”

“Hmm… okay. I accept your apology. But, you have to tell me what you were distracted by,” Cyrus bargains. He looks at TJ challengingly, like he’s sure he won’t actually say anything. TJ’s never one to back down from a provocation like that, but it’s not like he can tell the truth. 

“I really can’t remember,” he says, but he’s not sure it’s at all convincing. He’s always had a hard time lying to Cyrus. Cyrus’s face morphs into something mischievous, something TJ’s never seen before, and he’s torn between feeling terrified and extremely attracted to him. 

“You know, you can just admit it if it was me. I know how hard it can be to take your eyes off my unfairly adorable face,” Cyrus tells him, every word increasing in flirtiness and ending it with a wink. TJ’s blood is simmering under his skin. He’s blushing from the neck up, probably blotchy and gross-looking, his mouth gaping because he never expected this from Cyrus. Never. He knows what he told Cyrus: to think and act in cliches, like in the movies. But he’s starting to wonder if he’s in over his head because Cyrus flirting with him might just actually kill him.

“You got me. Who wouldn’t lose their train of thought looking at you? You’re gorgeous,” TJ says in an attempt to play along, but he sounds just a little too sincere for his own good. He hopes Cyrus just assumes he’s a really good actor. His words finally get Cyrus to blush back, and TJ is honestly really impressed it took that long. He feels like he’s been submerged in a pot of boiling water since they sat down. A waitress finally coming to take their order interrupts their conversation. 

Cyrus orders the singular chocolate milkshake, and TJ’s too entranced by the way his mouth forms words to argue that strawberry is actually definitely the superior shake flavor. And when it arrives with two straws, TJ can’t stop his hand from reaching across the table, his fingers tangling with Cyrus’s as they look at each other and sip. 

TJ pays, which Cyrus argues against until they’re outside and a block away from the diner. 

“I am technically the one who did the asking, should I not be the one to pay for the date?”

“It’s really not that big of a deal. Besides, I’m the one who suggested the whole thing, so who was really responsible for the date?” Their hands are still clasped together, despite the fact that TJ’s started sweating about 20 seconds after they started. But he’s too scared to let go. It might be gross, but if he lets go it might not ever happen again. TJ isn’t content with that thought. So they keep swinging their hands between them until they’re in front of Cyrus’s house. 

_ This is the moment _ , TJ tells himself.  _ This is where you let go, weirdo. Stop. _ But as he’s about to release Cyrus’s hand from his iron grip, Cyrus’s hand tightens noticeably. TJ doesn’t know what’s happening, but Cyrus still has the smallest smile, more content than anything, and TJ feels warm at the thought of being the cause. 

“I had a lot of fun,” Cyrus says. TJ isn’t sure if it’s a genuine compliment or still a part of the game they’re playing, and honestly, he isn’t sure how to interpret anything that’s happened the past couple of hours. Their ‘date’ has complicated TJ’s emotions tenfold, but he can’t say he’s too upset about it.

“Yeah, so did I,” TJ says back numbly, and there’s so much more he wants to articulate but the connection between his brain and his mouth was severed at some point throughout their date. Cyrus looks down for a moment, then looks up at TJ through his eyelashes and before he can open his mouth again, Cyrus is pulling him forward and his lips are pressed to TJ’s cheek. When he steps back, he finally lets go of TJ’s hand, leaving it cold with sweat. They both rub their hands against their pants awkwardly as Cyrus begins walking backwards toward the front door. 

“See ya tomorrow,” Cyrus says, his voice cracking as he pulls up his hands again in a final wave of finger guns. TJ watches him struggle to open the door, and god.

He’s in love with the biggest dork in the world. 

\---

Cyrus is at the closest he’s ever gonna get to running. He’s supposed to be meeting up with Andi, Buffy, and Jonah - he checks his phone again - 12 minutes ago. For laser tag. Which he’s never done before, but he figures it’d be a good time to try. With Buffy’s super-competitive nature he doubts he’d be able to win even if he knew what he was doing. 

He checks his phone again, reading another ‘where are you?’ text from the group chat, as he nearly collides with someone on a bike. And that would be the way he’d go, wouldn’t it? They don’t actually make contact, but Cyrus’s legs get tangled up and he ends up falling anyway. He looks up to apologize for not being more observant, but the words are taken from his mouth when he hears, “Cyrus! Are you okay?” 

And it’s TJ. TJ almost killed him with a bike (though it totally wouldn’t have been his fault). He does everything but throw his bike down, crouching down next to Cyrus.

Miraculously, he’s completely fine. He’s not hurt at all, he’s just having trouble articulating that at the moment.

“You have a bike.” TJ blinks like he’s sure he accidentally caused Cyrus brain damage.

“I’m late to laser tag, can you please give me a ride there? I swear it’ll only take you like five minutes,” Cyrus pleads, out of breath as he realizes he’s getting more and more late the longer he sits on the ground.

“What are you talking about?” TJ asks. Cyrus scrambles to his feet and picks up the fallen bike, pushing it to TJ.

“My friends are waiting for me at laser tag and I’m late. I’ll be much faster on your bike, which has pegs. I can hang on.” TJ is on his bike before Cyrus is even done talking, and he’s grateful for the lack of questions.

He stands on the bike pegs, wobbling a bit as he grips TJ’s shoulders. Once they get going TJ opens his mouth again.

“How is your life this chaotic?” he asks. Cyrus can hear the teasing in his voice and laughs at the thought of anything in his life being labeled as ‘chaotic’.

“I swear it’s not. You just catch me at bad times.”

“Well, glad I could help,” TJ says. He lets go of one handlebar to put his hand over one of Cyrus’s.

“Showoff,” Cyrus says. He’s really glad TJ can’t see his goofy smile. 

“Guilty as charged.” 

They ride in silence for a couple more minutes, arriving in front of the laser tag arena only 21 minutes late, which is less time than Cyrus anticipated. He can see his friends through the door, waiting for him, and while he’s excited to spend time and have fun with them, he really doesn’t want TJ to leave. Buffy and Andi notice and beckon him to come inside, both looking mildly confused as to why he’s on the back of TJ’s bike, and he’s made his choice.

He hops off the pegs and nearly falls over again. He really has no time to waste.

“Are you busy right now?” Cyrus asks, looking directly into TJ’s eyes. It’s deja vu to the highest degree. Cyrus can feel himself blushing, which is really stupid. This isn’t a date. Their last ‘date’ wasn’t even a date, but it  _  felt  _ like a date, and now he knows he’ll never have enough of it. He’s been feebly trying to convince himself that he doesn’t have a crush on TJ, that he can be friends with a guy without developing romantic feelings, but he’s been sucking at that, so what’s the use?

He knows the warmth he feels whenever TJ is around is far from platonic, but he can’t stop digging himself further into this hole.

“Uh, no, I guess not,” TJ responds. Cyrus takes TJ’s bike for the second time that day, guiding it to the bike rack. 

“You’re laser tagging with us,” Cyrus asserts, no room for negotiation. He absently wonders when he got so confident, but pushes it aside when he sees TJ pull his bike lock out of his backpack. 

They walk in, met by three stares, but Cyrus is strangely undeterred where he would normally be feeling nervous and judged. 

“Cool if TJ joins us?” The flurry of confused expressions and nods is enough for Cyrus, and evidently for TJ as well. Buffy starts going over rules and safety precautions - entirely for Cyrus’s benefit - when TJ interrupts. 

“Can I be on Cyrus’s team?” Cyrus looks at Buffy, more careful than he ever has before, but he swears he sees her eye twitch.

“We weren’t really planning on doing teams. Free-for-all is much more fun, don’t you think?” There’s a slight edge to her voice, but Cyrus is impressed that’s all there is. He was fully expecting her to bite his head off in rage. Is this what progress looks like? 

“I guess,” TJ says, no disdain present, but still slightly annoyed. Honestly, Cyrus could never have hoped for their interactions with each other to be this nice. Buffy keeps going, but Cyrus isn’t even pretending to listen anymore. What’s the worst that could happen? It’s laser tag.

They get their gear from the tired-looking 20-year-old behind the counter who tells them ‘no running’ three times before setting them free. Cyrus’s first instinct is to hide. He knows he can’t do it for the entire game if he plans on getting any points. He’s just immediately overwhelmed by the lack of light - which he supposes he should’ve expected - and the fact that he’s all alone. 

After about a minute of sitting silently, Cyrus peeks out from his hiding space, but he still sees no one. 

“Hi,” he suddenly hears from behind him. He flinches violently, but is pleasantly surprised at his lack of scream or other verbal noise of distress. His next instinct is to raise his blaster in defense and turn around, because there’s no way he’s starting this game with negative points. The sight of the vest in front of him lighting up hits him before the face of the person wearing it does.

“Whoa, chill, Underdog. It’s just me-”

“We’re not friends right now! Don’t make me shoot again.” Cyrus’s voice tapers out as he realizes he could potentially be attracting more people toward himself. TJ takes his hand and drags them both down to the floor. Cyrus pulls the trigger again. 

“Would you stop that? I’m trying to help you,” TJ whispers. He puts his own blaster on the floor and raises his hands. Cyrus exhales.

“But Buffy said no teams…”

“Do you always listen to what Buffy says?”

“Pretty much. She’s scary.” TJ nods at that quickly.

“Okay, well,” TJ bites his lip in thought, “what if we’re not a team? We’re just… allies.”

“‘Allies?’” TJ nods again. Cyrus smiles again.

“How is it gonna work?” 

So, they emerge from the wall they’re hiding behind, TJ’s promise to warn him of any potential ‘danger’ fresh in Cyrus’s mind. They’re careful and tactical, racking up the points they missed out on while discussing their plan. Cyrus is having way more fun than he thought he would, and when he manages to get Buffy once, his elation and fear max out. TJ can’t stop laughing at her reaction no matter how much he shushes him. Cyrus hasn’t been hit once and he’s sure it’s a miracle that’s about to expire.

It’s been eerily quiet for too long, neither of them sure of any of the others’ locations, when suddenly Jonah jumps out beside them. He knows it's dramatic, but Cyrus sees everything happen in slow motion. His heart starts beating uncontrollably fast as Jonah raises his hand holding the blaster. Cyrus can feel his lucky streak coming to an end. He closes his eyes and hears the tell-tale sound of someone being hit, but when he opens them up again, it's to the sight of TJ's back, vest lit up. 

Cyrus's eyes widen. Even Jonah is frozen in place, effectively thrown off by TJ's action. Nobody says anything for a handful of seconds, and then the main lights come on and there's an announcement that the game is over. Cyrus can't do much else but chuckle awkwardly and leave for the exit, TJ very close behind and Jonah trailing. 

When they're out of the arena, Buffy and Andi are already looking at the scoreboard. Andi turns and gives the three of them a look that says ‘proceed with caution’ and ‘don't even try anything’. Cyrus gets why. When he looks up to compare numbers, he sees that his is higher than Buffy's by only a hundred points. And he’s in the lead. Nobody says a word, and it’s more tense than it should be. It’s literally just laser tag.

“Close game,” Cyrus finally chokes out. He feels everyone’s eyes bore into him and then subtly shift over to Buffy. She clears her throat and plasters on a smile.

“Yeah, I wonder how that happened.” She looks at TJ, stares him down, trying to make him break. He maintains eye contact, which only proves to make everyone else extremely uncomfortable. 

“It’s pretty cool that you won, Cy-Guy,” Jonah cheers, either attempting to dispel the tension or not understanding that there’s even any tension at all. Cyrus laughs nervously, wanting this situation to end two minutes ago. 

“I guess I’ve found my hidden talent,” he sighs. Jonah is still smiling, bright and beautiful, and Cyrus still feels warm inside, but it’s like dying embers. He doesn’t have the mind to examine and analyze what that means right now though. Jonah claps a hand on his shoulder, scaring him just a little bit.

“I knew you had it in you.” While it feels good to know someone believes in him, he wishes the setting was just slightly different. Jonah’s hand slides off of him but is soon replaced with an entire arm. Cyrus looks up at TJ suddenly standing very close to him.

“I personally think we should celebrate Cyrus’s victory like good, supportive friends.” It’s a really smart thing to say on his part. It’s something nobody will argue with, and with that, TJ leads them out. TJ’s arm doesn’t leave Cyrus until they’re seated at a nondescript diner near the laser tag arena. It’s not The Spoon, but it’ll have to do. TJ’s been talking the entire time, but Cyrus hasn’t really heard a word of it. 

“What?” he finally asks, interrupting him in the middle of a thought (pretty rudely if he’s being honest). TJ just smirks at him. 

“I was just complimenting you and your aim. Not bad for a first timer,” TJ tells him, but teasing him all the same, probably for not listening. He recalls their conversation from last week.

“For a first timer? If I remember correctly, from like ten minutes ago, I won. Which means I also beat you.” Cyrus punctuates his statement with an unnecessary jab to the center of TJ’s chest. He really can’t explain why he does it - or most things lately - but it makes TJ laugh, so who cares? 

“Yeah, because I helped you, duh,” TJ says, tapping Cyrus’s nose in retaliation. It really is a simple touch, lasting no more than a fraction of a second, but that doesn’t stop an army of butterflies from being released in his stomach. Cyrus huffs in fake annoyance.

“I didn’t ask you to do that.”

“Doesn’t change the fact that you accepted the offer. Just admit that I protected you, and that helped you win.”

“Fine, do you want me to call you my knight in shining armor, too?” 

“You know, that actually doesn’t sound too bad.” They just stare at each other for a few seconds, Cyrus becoming uncomfortably aware of the fact that Andi, Buffy, and Jonah haven’t said anything since they sat down. Cyrus coughs and looks down at the menu in front of him.

“So what are we ordering?”

\---

Cyrus walks back to the laser tag arena with TJ to get his bike while the others head home. Even though he has his bike, TJ insists on walking beside Cyrus, wheeling the bike on the other side of him. Cyrus doesn’t point out that they’d get to his house faster if they just both got on the bike like before. They walk in silence for a couple minutes before TJ speaks up.

“I know I’ve been saying this a lot lately, but I had a lot of fun.” He sounds uncharacteristically nervous and isn’t looking at Cyrus at all. He’s not sure what it all means, and if he were more courageous, he’d ask what’s going on.

“So did I,” Cyrus responds. And it’s completely sincere, and it means so much more than just those three words. TJ laughs, but it’s on edge, and Cyrus hasn’t heard that one before.

“No, seriously. You didn’t need to invite me to hang out with your friends. I would’ve been happy to just give you a lift. It was partially my fault you were late.”

“First of all, it totally wasn’t. I was already running late, all on my own. Secondly, it’s really the least I could do considering how much you’ve been helping me.” TJ seems to trip over nothing. Cyrus is about to crack a joke until he sees the look on his face. It’s hard to decipher; a uniquely TJ expression that Cyrus has never seen before.

“Are you okay?” he asks, perhaps against his better judgment. In his time of knowing TJ, they’ve both opened up to each other more than he could’ve ever imagined. But now TJ looks more closed off than he’s ever seen him. The possibility that it might be his fault doesn’t escape him. 

“I’m fine.” Cyrus doesn’t think that’s a good sign, but he doesn’t even have an excuse to keep prying because they’re in front of his house now. The air is awkward, and not the fun, warm kind he’s so used to living in. 

“Okay. Um, text me when you get home?” TJ only nods. Cyrus really wants to go for a hug, but he doesn’t know how TJ would react to it right now. So he doesn’t even try. 

“See ya.” TJ hops on his bike and pedals away before Cyrus can even say bye. He can’t help but feel like he should’ve just tried for the hug. 

\---

TJ feels stupidly upset. He’s lying on his bed, staring up at the ceiling like he’s the distraught protagonist in a b-list teen movie. It’s really whiny, but all TJ’s been able to think for the past two hours is ‘it’s not fair’ and variants of it. He texted Cyrus to let him know he made it home safe (he’s not completely terrible), but hasn’t responded to any of his other messages. He stopped looking at them altogether eventually.

It’s been a while since he’s felt this sad, and he can’t even talk to Cyrus about it. It’s stupid. Cyrus doesn’t owe him anything, certainly not a date and definitely not a relationship, but he couldn’t help but feel like that was where things were going. They were getting closer, there were even moments where TJ forgot they were just friends. But it’s pretty clear to him that that was a one-sided thing.

TJ’s been able to easily ignore the fact that this whole arrangement started because of Cyrus’s crush on Jonah; he rarely sees Jonah, and up until today, he had never even seen the two together. But the second he did, he couldn’t lie to himself anymore.  _ ‘Cyrus doesn’t like me’  _ played on loop in his head until they sat down in the diner and Cyrus’s cuteness threw all of his logic out the door. So he flirted with him, in front of his friends like an idiot. And now here he is, reminded by Cyrus himself that all of this time spent together is to help Cyrus ask out a boy he likes. A boy who’s not TJ. It doesn’t even matter if Jonah doesn’t like him back; Cyrus will move on eventually and find a boy who does like him.

And it hurts so much. TJ’s never liked anyone as much as he likes Cyrus. Now that he knows how this feels, he’s not sure he’s actually liked anyone before Cyrus at all. And if it’s always gonna be like this, he’s not sure he ever wants it to happen again. 

His phone vibrates again, and he looks at it with slight apprehension. He didn’t want Cyrus to worry about him, but he didn’t have anything to say that wouldn’t ruin everything. He might be hurting now, but he’d be absolutely devastated if he said something that made Cyrus never want to see him again. 

_ i’m sorry if i did anything wrong _

TJ squeezes his eyes shut hard to stop tears from coming out. Leave it to Cyrus to apologize for something that is in no way his fault. He still doesn’t know how to respond to anything, but as he’s about to put his phone down again, it buzzes in his hand.

_ sweet dreams  _ 💗

TJ really doubts he’ll have any.

\---

Cyrus is at the park with Buffy, waiting for Andi to show up and tell them ‘The News’. Cyrus isn’t sure what that constitutes and he’s not sure he has the energy to be excited about it, but he’ll do his best to pretend for Andi’s sake. He hasn’t seen - or even really talked to - TJ for five days, which is the longest they’ve gone without seeing each other since they started hanging out. Cyrus can’t help but feel like he’s done something really wrong, but he’s been recounting the things that led up to TJ freezing him out, and he keeps coming up with nothing. Needless to say, he hasn’t been getting much sleep because of this. He’s struggling to keep his eyes open when Andi practically bounces over to them. Her energy is enough to keep him awake.

“Hello, friends!” Andi greets them, a huge grin on her face. She looks like she can barely contain herself. 

“Hi, so what’s this ‘news’ you’re so desperate to share?” Buffy asks. Her smile is equally as wide, and Cyrus supposes it’ll have to do for both of them. 

“I went on a date.” It’s all she says, so Cyrus and Buffy sit there expectantly.

“Okay…” Buffy treads carefully, but Andi is smiling, so Cyrus thinks it’s safe to assume it went well.

“With Walker.” And oh. It’s obviously not what either of them were expecting, because Cyrus’s jaw drops and Buffy sputters out some sounds that could be words, but Cyrus isn’t totally sure. 

“Walker? What about Jonah?” Cyrus asks. Up until recently he had always assumed they would both be stuck in Jonah Beck Obsession Hell forever.

“Jonah is so weird and confusing. It’s so nice to finally know how someone feels about me, and that we’re on the same page,” Andi says, sighing a breath of relief. Cyrus wishes he could relate. 

“We’re really happy for you, Andi. This is so cool.” Andi and Buffy talk more, but it all goes over Cyrus’s head. He’s too distracted and tired to say anything, so when Buffy and Andi suggest going to The Spoon to discuss the date more, Cyrus decides to hang back. They question him for a second, Buffy giving him a concerned look. She eventually walks off with Andi. 

He finds himself walking to the swings. Miraculously, no one else is at the park, so Cyrus is free to be as emotional as he wants, which mostly means he sulks as he barely pushes himself on the swing. He continues like this for quite a while, simultaneously overthinking and completely blanking, when he hears someone walking up behind him. He’s been observant the entire time, secretly waiting, hoping, for this moment. So he’s not surprised when TJ coughs a little to get his attention. Cyrus looks so fast he swears he could’ve given himself whiplash.

“No song today?” TJ asks. It’s in that fake casual tone he does so well, and it would fool Cyrus if he didn’t know any better. He stays on the swing, but TJ doesn’t come any closer.

“Not really feeling up for a song today,” Cyrus admits. He hopes his being open will make this whole process easier. And faster. However, TJ is still closed off and Cyrus thinks they’re gonna be at this for a while before he even gets close to what’s bothering him. 

“Sorry to hear that. Bad day?” TJ asks. He finally comes to sit on the swing beside Cyrus, and okay. Progress. Cyrus sighs.

“More like bad week,” he admits, not missing the way TJ looks away from him as much as he can. 

“That’s gotta be partially my fault.”

“Actually, it’s kinda  _ all  _ your fault.” Cyrus says it with a smile to let him know he’s mostly teasing, but it’s not a lie. 98% of his bad moods this week have stemmed from the fact that TJ is actively ignoring him. TJ lets out his own sigh in response, and today is just the day of sighing he supposes.

“I really am sorry. I’ve just been having a rough time lately, and I haven’t been thinking about how that might be affecting you. And Cyrus doesn’t like that TJ feels the need to apologize for being sad, but there’s something in that statement that digs at him even more. 

“You know that any time you’re feeling bad you can talk to me about it, right? I wanna be here for you all the time, TJ.” Cyrus thinks he’s spotted tears welling up in TJ’s eyes but he doesn’t point it out.

“I know, I know. I just- I don’t think I can talk to you about this specifically.” That hurts Cyrus more than it should. They haven’t known each other for very long, less than a year. TJ doesn’t have to share everything in his life with Cyrus. Cyrus just wishes he would anyway

“It’s okay. If you ever feel like you need to though-”

“I think I’m actually slowly - very slowly - getting over it. But, thank you.” It’s said with the utmost sincerity, and a single tear is wiped away just as quickly as it escaped. 

“Okay.” They sit in silence for a few moments, comfortable now that the tension has been broken.

“Anyway, what’s going on with you? I know it’s only been a few days, but it feels like I haven’t seen you in weeks,” TJ admits with a laugh. Cyrus laughs with him. He’s really glad they’re on the same page. He was starting to feel just a little overdramatic. 

“Literally not much. I read a couple books- oh, Andi is dating Walker apparently. I didn’t really get appropriately excited for her when she told us, so I think it’s hitting me now.” And Cyrus really is happy for Andi. He’ll have to talk to her about everything later today. 

“I don’t really know anything about this Walker guy, but if she’s happy that’s pretty cool.” Cyrus giggles. He can tell he’s not really all that interested in his friends’ lives, but the fact that he’s trying is sweet. 

“It is.” Cyrus assumes the conversation will end there, that they’ll switch topics, and they do, and they also kinda don’t. 

“So, I assume that means she’s over Jonah?” TJ asks, but it’s kind of a weird thing to bring up. Cyrus isn’t sure where he’s going with it, so he just laughs a little nervously. 

“Yeah, she is. Why?” Cyrus is genuinely puzzled when TJ’s expression shifts very quickly from the upset he saw the last time they were together, to blank, to happy, although the last one doesn’t really reach his eyes. 

“Then wouldn’t you say it’s time to put all of your training to the ultimate test?” Cyrus is lost. For like, ten seconds. And then it hits him all at once and he nearly chokes on his own saliva. 

“What?” is all he can get out in between sounds he’s not even sure he can describe as syllables. He can’t be saying what Cyrus thinks he’s saying. He goes on as if Cyrus didn’t just almost die.

“We did this whole thing so you could be prepared to go on a date with Jonah. I don’t think there’s ever going to be a better opportunity to do that than right now.”

“No, it was to prepare me to go on a date with  _ someone.  _ I can’t ask Jonah out, he doesn’t even like me like that. I can’t do it.” TJ looks at him clearly and confidently for the first time in the conversation. 

“You  _ can.  _ I’ve seen you grow so much in just the last few weeks. I know you can do it. You’re a lot braver than I am.” Cyrus can’t be sure what he means by that, but he shakes his head at it. He’s not brave at all. He’s the least brave person he’s ever known.

“And even if he says no, won’t it feel good to finally just get it off your chest?” 

“I mean, I guess?” Cyrus doesn’t have it in him to say that it really wouldn’t get anything off his chest at all because the only thing currently connecting him to his crush on Jonah is the fact that Jonah is objectively attractive to his stupid teenage brain. He doesn’t have a crush on Jonah, he knows he doesn’t.

“You can do it,” TJ repeats, and the thing is, Cyrus believes him. He  _ can  _ do it. He just doesn’t really want to anymore. But instead of just saying that like a rational human being, Cyrus starts coming up with excuses. 

“I’m not prepared enough! There are still so many things I need to learn how to do, or else I’ll look pathetic!”

“Like what? You’re fine.”

“I’m not. What about kissing? I’ve only ever kissed Iris and both times were painfully bad because I obviously don’t know what I’m doing.” He keeps rambling, going on and on about nothing, and on top of that, he’s blushing more than he ever has before in his life because it almost definitely sounds like he’s asking TJ to help him learn how to kiss. He never thought he’d be this transparent with how he feels - especially on accident - but the words are out and yeah. He kinda really wants to kiss TJ. And TJ is off the swing walking towards him and suddenly their lips are connected, TJ’s hands on his hips, bringing him closer as Cyrus’ hands settle on his shoulders. Cyrus is on the tips of his toes, and they’re kissing, and it finally feels right.

And then it’s over just as quickly as it began. TJ’s lets go of him like he’s been burned, and Cyrus is back to not knowing what to think or how to feel. He’s about to say something, anything, but TJ beats him to it.

“I think you’re fine.” That throws him for a loop. Fine? What does that mean?

“What?” Cyrus asks, ever the eloquent one. 

“If that’s your only concern, I think you’re ready.” Cyrus blinks. 

“You..? You still think I should ask out Jonah?” Cyrus is confused beyond belief until he’s not. Of course TJ still thinks he should ask out Jonah. Kisses don’t have to mean anything, and they likely don’t to a guy like TJ. Cyrus has never felt like more of an idiot in his entire life and he hates the way he can feel his whole body flush red. 

“It’ll make you happy. Isn’t that what matters?” Cyrus doesn’t think TJ’s ever been more wrong in his life. It won’t make him happy, but the one thing that will is impossible right now. Cyrus feels like he’s on the verge of tears, but he manages to put on a smile.

“Yeah… Yeah. Okay, I guess I’m gonna go do that.” He says it purely to humor TJ for all he’s done to help him. He’s not going to see Jonah, and if he’s being honest, he hopes to keep the whole crush thing under wraps forever. He doesn’t even say bye to TJ. He can’t do it, so he just walks away, hearing TJ sink back down onto his swing. 

Cyrus starts speed walking for the first time in his life, the need to get away from TJ urgent. Of course TJ doesn’t like him. His life is never that simple. ‘Just because a boy is nice to you, doesn’t mean he has a crush on you’. He can hear the way he repeated it to himself over and over again. Why didn’t he listen? 

Cyrus is so distracted by his own thoughts that he nearly runs into-

“Jonah.” It’s not the worst person to bump into right now, but it’s also not the best. More than anything he just wants to tell his mom everything and then cry for a couple of hours. 

“Cy-Guy! Is that a new shirt?” The inanity of the question actually makes Cyrus laugh, but in more of a ‘I’m having a mental breakdown’ way than a ‘haha’ way.

“Yeah, it is actually,” Cyrus says shakily, feeling like he’s had more emotions in the past 20 minutes than he has in his whole life. Jonah smiles like absolutely nothing is wrong.

“Nice! I’m sure TJ will love it.” That brings Cyrus’s thoughts to a screeching halt.      Jonah’s never shown himself to be a mean or malicious person, but Cyrus almost feels like-

“Are you… making fun of me?” At that Jonah’s eyes go wide, and semi-apologetic.

“What? No, dude. I just thought TJ would like the shirt. Not that the shirt really matters so much as the fact that  _ you’re  _ the one wearing it.” And okay, maybe Cyrus’s crush on TJ is more obvious than he thought but he really doesn’t appreciate jokes right now. 

“This isn’t funny-”

“Whoa, okay. Calm down. I really didn’t mean to get you mad. I didn’t know that you weren’t telling people yet.” 

“Telling people what?”

“You know, that you and TJ are together.” Cyrus’s blood runs cold.

“That we’re what? Me and TJ are not together. What does that even mean?” Jonah actually looks embarrassed at everything that’s transpired, gritting his teeth a little.

“Sorry, I really thought you were. He’s just so… protective of you… and touchy… and dramatically sacrificed himself so you would win laser tag. I thought he was your boyfriend.” Cyrus is speechless, and not for the first time that day. His emotions are attached to a yo-yo and he has no idea what he’s supposed to be feeling.

“Well, he’s not,” Cyrus says, and it comes out just a little more aggressive than he intends for it to because he’s mad about it. He’s mad TJ isn’t his boyfriend.

“Sorry. He does really like you though. That much is obvious.” Cyrus is out of negative energy for the day so he breathes in and out slowly. 

“How do you know that? What could possibly make you think that?” Jonah scoffs at him like he’s an oblivious fool. And maybe he is; he’s not ruling it out as a possibility.

“Did you not hear everything I just said? Plus, he kinda stares at you. A lot. And he’s always got a goofy smile when he’s around you.” Cyrus really thought that was just his normal smile. Cyrus sighs, but it’s a lot less resigned this time. TJ’s behavior suddenly makes a lot of sense.

“I can’t believe I noticed all of this and you didn’t.”

“Yeah, yeah, laugh it up,” Cyrus says turning around and beginning to walk back the way he came from. He’s done way too much walking today, he’s decided.

“You going to find TJ?” Cyrus smiles.

“Yeah.”

\---

When he gets back to the swings, TJ is unsurprisingly still there, swinging gently. Cyrus doesn’t bother to announce his presence the way TJ did.

“You’re an idiot,” is all he says, waiting for TJ to react. He laughs mirthlessly.

“Gee, thanks.” Cyrus rolls his eyes at the bitterness in his voice. He isn’t even bothering to ask about Jonah, which makes everything that much funnier. He decides to cut him some slack.

“And so am I,” Cyrus declares, walking in front of TJ, making him look up from the spot on the ground. 

Cyrus is done being patient, for the next few months probably. He holds TJ’s face with both of his hands and kisses him again, TJ confused for only a second before he kisses back. When Cyrus pulls back, he only has one question, clear and straightforward.

“How long have you had a crush on me?” TJ cheeks and ears go red, and for the first time, Cyrus isn’t afraid to think he looks incredibly cute. 

“Kinda since the beginning?” Cyrus’s eyes practically bulge out of his head. That was months ago.

“Why didn’t you say anything?”

“Oh, I’m sorry, I was under the assumption that you liked someone else. Why didn’t  _ you  _ say anything?”

“Oh, I’m sorry, I was under the assumption that a cool, popular jock could never like a dork like me.” TJ looks at him disapprovingly.

“First of all, I’m not cool or popular,” Cyrus is about to interrupt, but TJ continues, raising his voice. “Second, I like you  _ because _ you’re a dork.” Cyrus can tell it’s gonna take a while for both of them to get used to this because they both blush and look away. 

“I had no idea TJ Kippen had a soft spot for dorks. I’ll have to jot that down somewhere,” he says teasingly. They’re holding hands and Cyrus didn’t even really notice until now, but it’s really nice. 

“Only for you.” And if the butterflies in Cyrus’s stomach weren’t alive and fluttering before, they are now.

“This is so ridiculous. These past few weeks of us pretend-flirting and fake-dating could’ve been real the whole time.”

“Hey, they were real, I declare it retroactively. Besides, even if we weren’t technically together, it’s been kinda helpful. Like… boyfriend practice.” Cyrus laughs at that.

“Boyfriend rehearsal?”

“A boyfriend tutorial, if you will.” They’re both laughing way more than is appropriate for their dumb jokes, if they can even be called that.

“I can’t think of another one,” Cyrus says out of breath, getting even closer to TJ.

“That’s okay. Now we can focus on just being boyfriends.”

“I like the sound of that.”

  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  



End file.
